A sweeping blade curtain, imbued with traces of Daoist law, slashed across the battlefield, erupting into clouds of blood mist.
"Puff, puff, puff!" Dozens of cultivators were sliced cleanly in half by the blade curtain, and even two Golden Core stage cultivators were not spared from this fate.
After unleashing that strike, a terrifying sense of weakness flooded in, chilling Joe Di to the core. He knew this was not caused by the Sixth Sky Curtain Blade, but rather by the spear of that Golden Core eighth-stage cultivator. The spear had pierced through his chest, and a foreign true essence now spread within him. Though not as potent as his Fifth Rift Blade, its effect was similar.
If he could not expel this foreign essence, he would lose the ability to fight.
In desperation, Joe Di frantically activated the Starstream Technique, hoping to use it to sweep away the true essence that did not belong to him.
As the Stellar Nexus began its cosmic circulation within Joe Di, he was overjoyed: the foreign true essence was swept away by the Stellar Nexus and then annihilated within the vast, boundless star river inside him.
After just a few cycles, the outline of a second great star began to form within him.
"Anyone who dares hold back, or refuses to attack, will get nothing from this! I, Zachary Yi, mean what I say!" the Golden Core eighth-stage cultivator roared, his spear swirling with countless spear shadows.
With Joe Di's Sky Curtain Blade, dozens of cultivators were slain. Including those he had killed before, nearly two hundred cultivators had fallen, leaving only half remaining in a short span of time. In truth, even without Zachary Yi's words, those attacking Joe Di knew they had run into a formidable opponent.
Before Zachary Yi could finish his words, dozens more attacks swept toward Joe Di. Though there were fewer spells targeting him, their strength had more than doubled compared to before.
There were far fewer people hiding at the back this time; almost all the cultivators attacked with full force. Even the two Golden Core cultivators guarding the entrance to the formation charged at Joe Di. Why were they blocking him? Was it not for the treasures on Joe Di?
Just now, Zachary Yi had threatened that anyone who refused to fight would get nothing. Guarding the entrance was necessary, but when it came time to divide the treasures, no one would care what they had done. Perhaps Zachary Yi really would refuse to share the ley line with them.
Joe Di let out a long roar, his aura surging as he advanced to the second stage of the Golden Core realm in a matter of moments.
"He just advanced..." a Golden Core early-stage cultivator cried out in terror. At the moment Joe Di broke through, he seemed to see a bright star flicker within Joe Di's body.
He had never seen a technique like this before, but that was irrelevant now. What mattered was that he had never witnessed such a fierce individual advance to the second stage of the Golden Core realm in the midst of battle.
Though still gravely wounded, Joe Di once again unleashed his long blade, sending out icy blade shadows. Anything that stood before his blade was torn apart by the frigid blade aura.
Fourth Bleakwind Blade!
The Fourth Bleakwind Blade was not a technique for slaughtering groups, but a single-target blade art. Once unleashed, there was no retreat—its blade intent declared, 'None shall stand before me; those who do shall die.' Even late-stage Golden Core cultivators could not withstand Joe Di's strike.
A chill enveloped the space where Joe Di's blade descended, yet he summoned two shields as well.
Others could not summon defensive treasures while attacking with full force, but he could. His spiritual sense was so refined that deploying two shields mid-attack was no challenge at all.
......
Melody Qin's face had turned pale. Sprout had realized what was happening and anxiously said, "You were brought here by Big Brother—go help him, quickly..."
Sprout was just a root, with almost no defensive ability, and hadn't even reached the third rank yet. In this chaotic battle, going in would be nothing short of suicide.
Melody Qin calmed herself. Watching the chaotic clash of treasures and the explosions of spells, she knew all too well that rushing in would only mean certain death for her as well.
Seeing Melody Qin unmoved, Sprout grew even more anxious. "You're Big Brother's woman, aren't you? If Big Brother dies, do you really think you'll be fine? You're so afraid of death, and you're not even that pretty. If you don't start fighting harder, what right do you have to follow Big Brother..."
Worried about Joe Di's demise, Sprout didn't care what it was saying at all.
"Enough!" Melody Qin glared at Sprout. "You're more skilled with array formations than I am. This place is sealed with a trap array—our top priority should be to break it open..."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Sprout agreed repeatedly. "Big Brother can't get away right now. Once I break the trap array, he'll definitely be able to escape."
"Wait, we can't just go over openly. We need to break the trap array in secret," Melody Qin called out, stopping Sprout as it was about to rush forward, exasperated.
Sprout, who had been about to charge ahead, snorted at Melody Qin's words. "Do you really think I'm that clueless? Just watch me."
Sprout had not reached the third rank yet, but as a peak second-rank tree demon, its roots stealthily extended underground toward the trap array.
Normally, Sprout's actions would be no different from covering one's ears while stealing a bell.
But right now, no one was paying attention to Sprout's hidden root. Everyone was frantically attacking Joe Di; who had the leisure to notice anything else? As long as their peripheral vision confirmed that no one was tampering with the trap array at the entrance, they were satisfied.
The Bleakwind Blade brought forth the chill of the Yi River. At this moment, anything standing before Joe Di's Bleakwind Blade was crushed and torn apart. Once this unstoppable momentum gathered, no one could stand against it.
"Puff!" The Golden Core seventh-stage peak cultivator who had rallied the others to attack Joe Di watched helplessly as the Bleakwind Blade ripped through his defenses and descended upon his brow.
Joe Di was determined to kill him; no matter how he tried to evade, it was impossible to escape.
A flash of regret crossed the Golden Core seventh-stage peak cultivator's eyes—not regret for attacking Joe Di, but for being the one to rally the attack. In Joe Di's current state, his death was inevitable. If he hadn't been the instigator, Joe Di wouldn't have targeted him first.
This chapter isn't over yet ^.^, please click the next page to continue reading!
Blood mist erupted, and he no longer had the strength to think.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Crack! Crack! As Joe Di's Bleakwind Blade descended upon the Golden Core seventh-stage peak cultivator's brow, his two shields shattered under the barrage of attacks. Several more strikes landed on Joe Di—a blade wound slashed from his left back to his right waist, and another attack struck his calf, the bones in his leg cracking with a sharp snap.
As Joe Di fell to his knees, he unleashed the Sky Curtain for the second time.
Even though Joe Di was gravely wounded, the Sky Curtain he unleashed at the second stage of the Golden Core realm was even more ethereal and illusory. The blade intent within the Sky Curtain now carried a faint sense of cosmic law, and the atmosphere before the blade curtain was filled with killing intent.
Three thousand sets wielded the Silver Blade, a sheet of blood shadows gathered upon the curtain's edge.
The blade curtain swept through the space, and dozens more cultivators were sliced in half at the waist by the Sky Curtain, blood mist flying and gathering together.
By the time the Sky Curtain Blade reached its end, the blood shadows had merged with the blade curtain, forming a perfect scroll. The only difference was that the tail of this blade curtain was a brilliant crimson.
With the first Sky Curtain, Joe Di had slain at least forty or fifty cultivators, though most were Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, with only a few Golden Core among them. This time, he killed just over twenty, but among them were seven Golden Core cultivators, including one at the sixth stage.
Nearly two hundred people had besieged Joe Di; now, fewer than sixty remained.
Joe Di knelt on one knee, his eyes even closed. He felt an overwhelming urge to sleep, his body pushed to the limits of weakness.
He sighed inwardly—there were simply too many people.
After Joe Di's second Sky Curtain Blade, the attacks even stalled again. Just who was this man? He was simply too terrifying.
Even the Golden Core eighth-stage cultivator felt his hand trembling and his eye twitching violently. Just now, one of Joe Di's shields had been destroyed by his spear.
If Joe Di unleashed several more sweeps like those with the Sky Curtain, who among them could survive?
"He's finished—kill him!" roared a Golden Core second-stage cultivator who had lost an arm. Though stunned by Joe Di's second Sky Curtain, the hatred from losing his arm brought him back to his senses.
"Yes, attack together—kill him!" A dozen cultivators once again unleashed their treasures in a frenzied assault on Joe Di. At this moment, some even forgot about the treasures on Joe Di, caring only about taking him down.